Skip to main content
Humanities LibreTexts

8.16: Gramática- Adverbios de modo

  • Page ID
    114019
    • Erica Brown, Alejandra Escudero, María Cristina Montoya, & Elizabeth Small
    • SUNY Oneonta via OER SUNY
    \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Objetivos

    • Recognize adverbs of motion ending in -mente

    Adverbs are words that modify verbs, that is they describe how actions are done. You learned the most common adverb in one of the very first lessons of this course: bien (meaning “well”), which modifies the verb estar in the answer that everyone gives when asked ¿Cómo estás? —Estoy bien, gracias (I am well, thanks).

    Normally, English turns adjectives into adverbs by adding the suffix -ly; similarly, Spanish turns many adjectives into adverbs by adding the suffix -mente to the feminine singular form of the adjective.

    • normal → normalmente (normally)
    • similar → similarmente (similarly)
    • triste → tristemente (sadly)
    • frecuente → frecuentemente (frequently)
    • rápido → rápidamente (rapidly, quickly)
    • largo → largamente (at length)

    Adverbs are invariable in Spanish, which is to say that the suffix -mente does *not* change to agree in gender or number.

    • Papá Oso camina pesadamente. (Papa Bear walks heavily.)
    • Mamá Oso camina cuidadosamente. (Mama Bear walks carefully.)
    • Los ositos caminan alegremente. (The baby bears walk happily.)

    Contributors and Attributions

    • Gramu00e1tica: Adverbios de modo. Authored by: SUNY Oneonta with Lumen Learning. Provided by: SUNY Oneonta. License: CC BY: Attribution

    This page titled 8.16: Gramática- Adverbios de modo is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Erica Brown, Alejandra Escudero, María Cristina Montoya, & Elizabeth Small (OER SUNY) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.